“When the community joined together two years ago to celebrate the opening of this library, Brian Honan was so proud and so excited about what it would bring to his neighborhood. Today I am proud to know that it will be called the Honan-Allston branch. It is a wonderful and fitting tribute to a man who did so much for the Allston and Brighton neighborhoods,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

The change of the branch’s name was made official when the BPL’s Board of Trustees ratified the honor this week.

“Re-naming any branch library is a weighty decision because a branch is such a vital part of a neighborhood’s identity.  The Board of Trustees used strict criteria in deciding to re-name the Allston branch and are pleased that Councillor Honan’s exemplary contribution to the Allston-Brighton neighborhoods will be honored in this way,” said William O. Taylor, chairman of the Board of Trustees.

The Trustees’ criteria considered many factors including that branches can be named for a deceased person who made a substantial contribution to the neighborhood in which the branch is located. The branch’s Friends organization, as well as the mayor and the president of the Library must support the re-naming of any site.  A unanimous vote of the Boston City Council is also required before the Trustees will support a name change.

When the Honan-Allston branch opened in June of 2001, it was the BPL’s first new branch in 20 years. The Allston community had been without a branch since the early 1980s. It was through the concerted efforts of Councillor Honan and others in the neighborhood that Allston now has a branch that has already become one of the most active in the city.

The 20,000-square-foot branch at 300 North Harvard Street includes three courtyard reading gardens, wireless technology, 50,000 books, an extensive children’s collection, and an art gallery. Among the many program that the branch offers are computer classes, help for those learning English, film series and activities for children.

To further honor Councillor Honan, the Friends of the Allston Branch Library will host a celebration at the branch on April 2^nd   in honor of what would have been Brian Honan’s 40^th birthday.

The Boston Public Library, established in 1848, was the first publicly supported municipal library in America, and the first library to allow people to borrow books and materials, a truly revolutionary concept at the time. In 1870, the BPL opened the East Boston branch, the first branch library in the country. In 1895, it opened a children's room, making it the first library in the country to establish a space specifically designed for children. Today, the BPL has more than 6 million books and serves more than 2 million people annually in its central library in Copley Square and in its 27 branch libraries around the city. The BPL is also one of only two public libraries in the country that are members of the Association of Research Libraries. All of its events are free and open to the public. At the Boston Public Library, books are just the beginning. 

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Prepared by the Boston Public Library's Communications Office. For more information about news, programs and events at the BPL, call 617-859-2212 or send a message to the Communications Office.